What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!  Link up for What I'm loving Wednesday!  It's my first full week of my new job so I'm a little crunched on time.  There are still many things I'm loving (besides the fact that it is 10:30pm and my roommate is making us brownies).

I'm loving...that it's almost time for football season.  GO [CLEMSON] TIGERS!

I'm loving...George Bush.  That's right.  After watching the 9/11 special documentary on NatGeo on George Bush's reaction, I fell in love with his genuine personality!

I'm loving...these fun, Pinterest, houseware idea finds:

I'm loving...a three day weekend coming up..yahoo!!!  I'm so pooped from work already and it's only Wednesday!  I'm excited to go to Charlotte with the boyfriend, not too excited that we are going to find him an apartment to live in FOUR HOURS FROM ME :(

I'm loving...Adele!  I know I'm a little late but I finally purchased her ENTIRE c.d. and I like, like, like!

I'm loving...this new blog!

Shocking Saturday!

Hey everyone!  I wanted to talk about some shocking events from my Saturday.

Shocker Number one: The amount of money we saved!!

  My mom and grandma came to visit (yay!!) which means a couple of things but mostly: watch out deals, we are going to find you!  And that we did.  After a great dinner on Friday night [my favorite-Cheesecake Factory], we were ready to hit up almost every store in Buckhead.  Three generations of bargain hunters...some damage is about to be done!

They have trained me well.  Just as they have said to their husbands, I now say to my boyfriend: "It's not how much you spend, it's how much you save.  

Here's a little example from just one of our stops on our excursion:

Ladies and gentlemen, that is $754 that we saved!  

A few of the items we got along some of our other stops for [of course] great bargains:

New decorations for my work desk.

Coffee table centerpiece: $5 wooden balls & $5 metal tray.  Love.

Shocker Number Two:  [Warning: This will make your stomach turn]  What my boyfriend found in his cous cous at Saturday night's dinner outting:

That. Is. A. Bandaid.  OMG.  Not. Okay.

Ya'll..this was a really nice, popular restaurant in Buckhead and this bandaid was at the bottom of his bowl and Boyfriend picked it up by accident with his fork.  Yikes!  We were mortified!  Our meal was free, to say the least.  The manager handled things the best he could, I suppose, with $75 gift card to us and fired the kitchen worker on the spot.  Still...wow! I'm not sure what worse you could find in your food?


Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Any shockers happen to anyone else??

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm so thankful for so many things this week!!

First, I'm loving...my lovely new job!  It's only day two but I can tell it's 

I'm loving...our tv stand that is almost complete!  I especially love the new frame/quote addition.

Speaking of our apartment coming together...I'm loving...our curtain rod and curtains.  It really makes our den so so so much more homie.  In my last apartment at Clemson, we never got curtains because we had nice wooden blinds but, people, trust me, curtains make all the difference in the world.

There's some fun things happening with my family...

I'm loving..that my little sister's dream finally came true and she got a puppy!  Well, a three year old mut named, "Zoe" (pronounced Zoe-ey).  Apparently she is super sweet and gets along great with my 4 and 5 year old brothers, is already potty trained and doesn't get on furniture.  I can't wait to meet her next time I go to visit Clemson!

I'm loving...my parents' are getting a new driveway!!  Woo hoo!! If you notice, there is a lot of driveway at the house I spent the past few years of high school in, so a new driveway is just like a great new face lift for their house.  Can't wait to see the finished product!

Probably most importantly, I'm loving....that my cute little grandmommy and my mom are coming this Friday night!!

My grandma is the most stylish 76 year old you will ever meet!

Love my mom.  She is my best friend and I cannot go through a day without calling her!

Some other exciting things..

I'm loving...the fact that I'm officially a legal driver in Georgia.  That's right, after a whole week of gettin' the run-around from the government, I finally got myself Georgia car insurance and the right documents in my possession (who knew I needed the ORIGINAL title).  The only unfortunate part is that Georgia just voted on a new license plate that I barely missed..so I'll have to wait until I renew.  Just look how cute it is (without the "In God We Trust" I believe:

I'm loving...my boyfriend.  He has been working so hard (I'm talking until 9pm or later most nights) and I am so proud of him for his dedication to the career he is awesome at!  Also, he took me to one of our favorite restaurants last weekend, Two Urban Licks, and I am so thankful to have someone so great to love.

Yummy date night!

Two New Recipes!

My roommate is amazing in general but one of her very best assets is cooking!  She introduced me to this coconut banana bread recipe and we made three, yes three, loaves this weekend!  It's weird because I really don't like bananas.  Or coconut...at all.  But this recipe is so moist and I think both of these ingredients just make the flavor pop more, but not too banana-ie or coconut-ie at all.

Banana Coconut Bread (Cooking Light)

Note: We did not do the lime glaze and it still delicious!

So moist!

One loaf for us and two loaves to give away!

Also tonight I tried out a new recipe I found from Gina's Skinny Recipes. I love anything I can put cheese and sour cream on and this recipe is perfect because it is very low-fat!

Soooo easy!!

1. Put all ingredients (which are mostly straight from cans)  in crock pot and place raw chicken breasts on top.  Turn on high heat for 6 hours (or low heat for 10 hours if you have a long day at work).  
2. Simply shred chicken and mix shredded chicken into ingredients 30 minutes before serving!
3. Serve with yummy condiments.  We did it with rice but next time I would just stick with lettuce, sour cream and cheese.

What it looks like in the morning and then...

What it looks like when served!  DELISH!

Bargain Hunting Weekend

I've had a very productive bargain hunting weekend and wanted to share my finds with ya'll!

My bargains started off at the Dollar Tree!  Personally, I think Dollar Tree doesn't get enough credit for their deals.  Just about half of their items are incredible for only a dollar.  The other half, not so much. Big shout out to The Bargain Blonde for inspiring me with her Dollar Tree post!  [You all need to go read this post, every word is true!  And be sure to vote for her for the Most Valuable Blogger]

First off, cute cards, tissue paper and gift bags are about three times as much anywhere else!  Balloon size bags and plastic forks/spoons?  Same deal!  PS-the basket on the left is one of three for my next D.I.Y. project!

Check out these cute jars with decorative balls in them!  Great addition to our tv stand of knick knacks.

Yes, get a good look...(Please note "Knocked Up" on the tv)...these babies were from Goodwill!!  I ventured in there with high hopes but high skepticism as well.  Sure enough, found these (with balls included) for only $5.84 & $4.34!

But that's not all...got this lamp for $7.56 at Goodwill.  The shade alone would be $15 at Walmart.

Anyways, I hope ya'll had a great weekend and hope this post inspires you to bargain hunt!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I know, I know. I'm twenty two but I don't think I'll ever really feel like I'm grown up. Geez, I can make few life decisions without calling up mom (for the emotional decisions) or dad (for the financial decisions). I am proud to say that since graduating this year I am four hours away from home and financially-definitely not mentally, that's a joke-independent! In that sense I'm grown up, yes. But in other ways, like finding my life-long career goals, I sometimes feel like I have a long way to go. Do you feel that way?

When asked what I wanted to be when starting college I just replied "not sure, some type of business or design and I definitely want to be in charge." Somedays I feel like I've come so far and know the EXACT skills I want to use every day but other days I feel like the world is so so big with so many career paths I may love even more and be even better at than the one I'm in right now.

I majored in Communication Studies at Clemson. Anyone else out there have an incredibly broad major or one that didn't teach you specific trades? Well, I loved my major and if you know me I should definitely be in a major that emphasizes communications but it certainly was a challenge when honing in on a specific career path. My third year I found public relations and took all three of the classes Clemson offered in it, did two PR position internships and wala! I was hooked-found something I loved and was good at. I made up my mind that was what I was going to do. I followed that path, which led me here to Atlanta doing a marketing position (many marketing and PR skills and duties overlap) at an agency. Unfortunately, the actual work content wasn't what I had a passion for. It really got me identifying what I love in a career:

• Passion.  
• Guidance.  Someone to hold my hand the first couple steps of a project then leave me alone for the rest of the day and see what I've got.
• Structure. I like to know specific objectives for that day/week/month
• Give and take.
• Interacting.
• Self satisfaction. I'm a hard worker, sometimes to a fault, but I don't mind working hard as long as I feel a sense of joy from the finished product
• Strategizing
• A chance to make a difference. I want truly inspire and affect the ones I work for and with.
• Writing.
• Using creativity.

I start my new job on Tuesday and am so excited because I feel it will be one that will have all of these qualities!  Although I know I'm going to love my career, in another life I think these careers would suit me well too :)

I've always wanted to choreograph dances, teach kids and choreograph routines.

Also contemplated med school for a while.  My mom is a dermatologist and I have loved being her nurse's assistant throughout college.

I am obsessed with interior design.  Who am I kidding a job where I could pick out curtains and furniture for spaces all day long?  Dream come true.

Photographer.  Need I say more?

Resorts manager.  I love everything about hospitatlity in my day-to-day life.  Why not turn it into a career?

What careers would you try if you had a second, third chance?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

What I'm Loving Wednesday!
Today's "what I'm loving" post, which mostly includes luxuries we in America take for granted, comes with guilt as the Somalia famine gets worse and worse.  I have been on several mission trips to Latin America and have seen extreme hunger but reading and hearing about Somalia brings a whole new meaning to suffering!  I hope everyone will keep the victims of this famine in their hearts and prayers!

This week I am going through some crazy career changes (more to come on this later) and I am so thankful for some time off to get everything done.  Who knew that moving to another state meant hours upon hours of trips to tax offices/driver services.  Let's just say, I have learned a lot!  If you're like me, you have been fortunate enough to have some amazing parents in your life who have taken care of these "necessities" and you have taken it for granted...well, not anymore!  This week, I have taken the time to enjoy some simple things in life:

I'm loving...HGTV.  That's right, good ol' HGTV.  I've always been a fan but recently haven't watched it much.  However, this week I've really been using these shows as inspiration.  Anyone else addicted and what are your favorite shows?  Although Candice Olson (from "Divine Designs") severely gets on my nerves, I absolutely LOVE her designs, and they truly are "divine."  Each show, it looks like the finished project is straight out of a magazine and I've never seen one room that I don't absolutely adore!  For all of these home makeover shows, I am so curious to know how much the homeowners contribute, financially.  Anyone know?!  On the HGTV website it states "all applicants must have outgoing personalities, be willing to appear on TV, and be ready to pitch in financially and physically to get the job done" but that is still a bit ambiguous, haha.  Here are some of my favorite Divine Designs:

I'm loving...e.l.f. makeup brush cleaner.  Turtles and Pearls introduced me to the e.l.f. line and I'm so thankful!  I got this at Target and it was only $3!  It is an antibacterial cleaner and doesn't make your expensive brush funky after it dries!

I'm loving...that tomorrow the boyfriend and I are heading to the Braves game!  I'm so excited just to get to spend some quality time and, of course, eat some baseball food.  He has been working until 9p.m. or later EVERY day but he promised he would be home by 6 to make the 7:10 game.  Fingers crossed!

I'm loving...dulce de leche ice cream by Publix.  It is caramel with caramel stripes.  Yum, yum, yum!  Ordinarily I'm not one to love caramel but oh boy, what's not to love about this?  If you like rich tastes, this is for you!

I'm loving...that this week the weather has cooled off some!  Granite, it is still high 80's but that is 10 degrees cooler than last week!  It is actually possible to walk outside without breaking a sweat!

Excited to see Eclectically E tonight on our "fast walk" around Peachtree Rd!  Honk if you see us sweatin' it out :)

Can I go back to College?

Pretty please?

So, unfortunately my internet has been out in my apartment for a couple days but I'm back to give an update about last weekend!  Does anyone else HATE Comcast?  I went there THREE times...because they kept giving me wrong information.  Currently nursing a Comcast-induced headache.
Anyways, last weekend I got to go back to college and hang out with all my besties!  Even if it was just for two days, it made me miss the simple life and having them around so much!

Yep, looks like I'm officially in Clemson!

On Friday, I stayed at my sister's new apartment.  She will be a Junior at Clemson this year and, with every year that passes, we get closer and closer.  I guess it really is true about that "bridging the age gap" thing.  We're only two years apart and we had our differences in high school.  Now, I'm looking forward to coming to visit her and vice versa!  It was fun helping her decorate but she and her roomies already had some oh-so-cute and original decorative ideas that I wanted to share with ya'll:

Then, it was on to Christina's graduation party. Her family rented a m.a.s.s.i.v.e. house on the lake for all of us to spend the weekend at!

Our friends from D.C. drove down to celebrate the weekend, too and it made me feel so fortunate I pay the living expenses of Atlanta and not D.C.  I was shocked to learn you'd have to give your left arm to live in a one bedroom apartment without air conditioner.

Seeing everyone back together really made me feel like life was less scary and, although we are all moving in different directions, with a plan or two, we can all rendezvous and be together right back where we started!

If you are still in college: Do not take having your friends a mile away from you for granted!  Spend all the time in the world with them.  Go grocery shopping with them, paint your nails together, do laundry together...do whatever you have to do but spend every minute with them!  You will miss them even when you're just two hours away.

Workin' on my Fitness

Maybe I should have written this post at the BEGINNING of the summer before bikini season but better late than never, right?

I'm going to try this at home.  I think the counting down thing would really help me get through it easy!

 Sidenote: Ever notice when you start to lose your tan you're automatically thinking *I have got to get to the gym*?  There is something about tan skin that makes your body look better even on fat days [magic?] but when that starts to wear away, boy oh boy, I'm back to feeling flabby and have a necessity to get to the gym to get toned!  

Anyways, in honor of getting back into shape, I wanted to post a few of my workout essentials.  I have been working out for 7 years, going to a gym regularly and running outside, so I've found some of my"faves" to sweat in!

Tank top of choice: Nike Dri Fit
This tank is awesome!  It isn't tight around the belly and the fabric is so thick and the straps fit perfectly.  Built in bra included! :)

Running shoe of choice: Reebok Run Tone
So I love the way tennis shoes make girls' legs look but only about half of tennis shoes do justice for our lovely legs and these are some great ones!  Plus (as you've heard I'm sure) it claims to "tighten" the booty and hamstring.  I was very skeptical that they actually did as they claim, and purely bought them for their looks [I have the pink ones and they're super cute on the feet] but when I started to run in them, I noticed my calves were much more sore quicker!  Therefore, Reebok Run Tones---->Tone!

Water Bottle: Nalgene "On the Go"
Okay ya'll, I am super picky about this!  I take a waterbottle with me everywhere and sleep with one on my night stand.  Needless to say, I take one to the gym, too!  Sometimes I'll take a disposable water bottle, but not too often.  Hydration + Eco-friendly=Win, Win.  I have learned  there are a few aspects about water bottles that only one water bottle I've found has.  Obviously, Nalgene is one of the best brands out there because of quality but it's the "on the go" water bottle that is a must-have. 

Now I'm not too big of a fan of this one (although I had it for years in high school).  The mouth is too big and I could NEVER drink out of it without dribbling down my shirt.  Great image, right?

Neither am I a fan of THIS nalgene because you have to unhook the cap each time you want to drink. Just one more annoying step in the whole process.  Wow, I sound picky but it's true-I promise, when you drink approx. 100 sips of water a day, this makes a difference!

DING DING DING!  We have a winner.  This baby is amazing...perfect "open with one hand" and great size.  In fact, I have bought a total of six of these "on the go" bottles!  [Three for me, three for the bf...we tend to lose them! ha] ALSO, the Nalgene site has free shipping so go get yours :)

Songs:

I don't know how anyone goes to the gym without being armed with some awesome tunes!  If I forget my iPod, I call it a day and turn around.  Please please please share with me some awesome runing/cardio songs!  I am ALWAYS and forever in need of them for motivation :)  Also, leave me a comment if you'd like me to share more!  These are just a few of the songs are on my workout soundtrack right now

1.  Come On - Tiesto (this is house music but it is great for getting pumped up!)
2. The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
3. Gettin' Over You - David Guetta
4. Adagio for Strings - Tiesto
5. S & M - Rihanna
6. Something to Believe In - Parachute
7. Big Things Poppin - T.I. (amazing for abs)
8. No Hands - Waka Flocka Flame
9. Honey Bee - Blake Shelton
10. Fame - Naturi Naughton

Hope everyone is having a great Friday.  PS-I wore "jeggings" to work today.  Think that's taking the "jeans on Friday" thing a little overboard? Nah.. :)